Living in the middle of Kansas doesn't mean we're devoid of culture. In fact, there's a lot more appreciation for the finer things in life out here than the mainstream media gives us credit for. We are more likely to travel long distances to seek culture than those who live in a large metropolitan area. It's easy, after all, to take in a play, a concert, or the ballet if you're a short subway or taxi ride away from the event. You may even take it for granted, and develop an attitude that if it ...

Saturday marked the opening of Travel and Tourism Week in Kansas, which runs through next Sunday. The Barton County Commission Monday morning is set to authorize a proclamation to recognize the importance this industry plays in our local, regional and state economies.

Last week was the culmination of several months worth of effort by Great Bend fourth and fifth graders, effort that wrapped up Friday with the celebration of Arbor Day. Thanks to a cooperative arrangement between the Great Bend Tree Board and the Kansas Forestry Department, the fourth-grade students were each given a red bud sapling and the fifth-grade students participated in a poster contest.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans generate approximately 290 million scrap tires annual. Historically, these scrap tires took up space in landfills or provided breeding grounds for mosquitoes and rodents when stockpiled or illegally dumped.

If anyone ever wondered how an annual farm show could be successful in Great Bend, they only had to listen to Barton County Fair Board President Charles Atkinson's speech at the opening ceremony for the 2103 Great Bend Farm and Ranch Expo. A farmer veteran of state and national farm organizations, he offered an impassioned remarks.